EFF is building a stronger 'Do Not Track' browser setting

Yahoo gives up on Do Not Track, thinks privacy should be 'personalized'

Sponsored Links

The Do Not Track initiative sounds like a great idea in theory -- you as a user can basically tell the websites you visit that you don't want your behavior monitored or shared with third parties. Alas, major players like Google and Facebook have said they ignore those sort of requests from users, and now Yahoo is giving up on Do Not Track too. What does that mean for you? Well, the resurgent web company is once again watching what you do... unless you specifically tell it otherwise. You as an individual can still manage your Yahoo privacy settings for things like targeted ads that appear based on your search habits, but you can no longer opt-out of everything en masse.

Yahoo points out in a blog post that it was "the first major tech company to implement Do Not Track," but its stance on DNT hasn't always seemed like the most forward-thinking. Let's flash back to 2012 -- when Microsoft made Do Not Track the default behavior for Internet Explorer 10, Yahoo basically decided to ignore it, claiming that the move sullied its users' experiences because they didn't enable it themselves. In a move that'll shock absolutely no one, Yahoo is playing the user card again. The privacy team made it a point to present the brighter side of its decision, affirming their strong belief that "the best web is a personalized one." We wonder about that.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.